Independence Day Messages
Treat all with dignity: Opposition Leader
With gratitude to our forefathers who fought for independence, I issue this message on 70th Independence Day of our Country.
We are at a crucial juncture of our history as we celebrate seventy years of Independence.
As a country, we have not been able to enjoy the true benefits of the independence in the past, stated Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, in his message marking Independence Day.
The message added: “As a result of the unresolved national question, we have faced the lack of peace and harmony and development of the country.
The ethnic issue has widened the gap between communities and has caused distrust and disunity amongst our people.
The country as a whole is still struggling to come out of the adverse impact of the armed struggle. As we look back at the past seventy years our losses outweigh our gains.
Our failure in genuinely addressing the national question has left us far behind in economic development and prosperity in the region.
The past has left us with more events of grief and sadness than happiness and joy. But we cannot allow the past to be repeated. We must unite as people of one country, and it is only possible when people are treated with dignity and self-respect.
Therefore, I urge all political parties and leaders to cooperate to adopt a new Constitution. A Constitution that will genuinely address the root causes of the conflict and preserve the dignity of every citizen of this country.
We must come together to find a lasting solution through a new Constitution, the supreme law of the country.
My appeal to the leaders and the people of this country is to come together to find a reasonable and acceptable political solution, which will have an enormous impact in rebuilding our shattered economy and in bringing lasting peace and harmony amongst our people.
Let us not miss the opportunity before us to create a better future for our country and its people.”
Celebrate by recalling work of forefathers: Minister
It is a well-known fact that Sri Lanka was invaded by the Portuguese, Dutch and the English in different times of history and we have been living with a colonial mentality for a long period in the past.
We commemorate, at this point of time, the National Leaders who dedicated their lives and worked tirelessly towards gaining Independence of our Motherland during the above era with immense respect and the true sense of sovereignty of Sri Lanka, stated Home Affairs Minister Wajira Abeywardana in a message marking Independence Day.
The message added: "The entire history has been documented and the memories of technology, economy and the guidance on the way forward that the Nation has inherited from the foreign rulers remain in the form of numerous memorials.
Some of these memorials have been named as world heritage sites and many foreign and local tourists visit the country to see them.
During the colonial era, the foreign rulers have improved the economy of the country to be on par with the world economy.
However, politicians during the post-colonial period too have given so much to our Nation.
Free education, free health service, electricity, highways and the other things that we have gained through free economy have been vested in the people of our country.
In a way, our country has achieved much more than the other countries who have similarly got independence.
Nevertheless, we should question ourselves as to whether we have a history with artefacts created by us after gaining independence that would attract tourists from other countries of the world.
However, foreign tourists arrive in the country to see the beauty and grandeur of the structures built in the colonial era and our proud history reflected in Sigiriya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa and the like built during the times of ancient kings.
Likewise, as we pass 70 years of independence, we observe that foreigners arrive here to see the history of irrigation works of our country such as Victoria, Randenigala, Rantambe and Maduruoya. Further, we all know that by integrating the knowledge, gained through the free education, with the world economy, Sri Lankans disseminate their knowledge throughout the entire world.
One obstacle to going forward as a Nation is the practice of designing our cities to suit the money in hand.
As such, our next challenge in the future would be to create an architectural economy within the democracy and design cities that would attract the entire world and generate income for the country.
For this purpose, all Sri Lankans should stand up with dignity as one Nation in front of the world.
We firmly believe that it is possible to create a new world and win the above challenge with the leadership of His Excellency the President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe.
We have a proud history which is closely knitted with the village, irrigation and religious places of worship.
Therefore, we Sri Lankans who inherit such a proud history step in the 70th year of independence with pride as an Independent and Sovereign Nation.
Further, I would like to mention that we Sri Lankans welcome His Royal Highness Prince Edward and the Countess who represent the Royal Family in Britain, the special representatives from Japan and China and other distinguished guests with heartfelt happiness."
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